Sadly, we just learned that Gayleen Cooper Monsour, BHS '67, passed away in 2019.
No further details are available at this time.
RIP Gaylene.
Burbank High School Graduating Class of 1967 blog. See photos and read messages from the past and present! IMPT: Please view Web Version to see All the Links
Sadly, we just learned that Gayleen Cooper Monsour, BHS '67, passed away in 2019.
No further details are available at this time.
RIP Gaylene.
Nov 4, 2021
Mark Stewart Pollock
October 25, 1949 - June 16, 2021
Longtime Napa Valley attorney, Mark Pollock, 71, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, June 16. In his professional life, he will be remembered as a dedicated legal practitioner, a bold crusader, a raconteur, and the last of a rare and truly irreplaceable breed.
Family and friends remember Mark as extraordinarily energetic and multi-talented, as a vibrant storyteller, an exceptional cook, a powerful Black Belt in Kung Fu karate, a gifted gardener, a lover of dogs, and an accomplished sailor. Ultimately, Mark was a man, who lit up every room that he set foot in.
Mark was born on October 25, 1949 in Burbank, Calif., the first son of Stella and Sol Pollock's three children. Mark attended Burbank High School, graduating in 1967, and from San Francisco State University in the 1970s, and later, San Fernando Valley College of Law, Woodland Hills, Calif, where he was President of the Law Review, and passed the California Bar in 1978.
As a young lawyer, starting out in the Napa Valley, he met his future wife, Alison Head, in Calistoga in 1982. The couple were married in 1989 by Napa County Judge John Quigley, while living on the Napa River in the late 1980s.
Mark joined and worked as a Napa Deputy District Attorney in Jerry Maunter's office while Alison pursued her Ph.D. at nearby U.C. Berkeley. Mark went on to Solano County District Attorney's Office, where he set up the Environmental Crimes unit.
In 1993, he set up a private practice in land use and environmental law in Napa, where Evangeline James joined the firm and later the two became partners in Pollock & James. In the Napa Valley, Mark was active within the legal community, a former president of the Napa Bar Association. and a widely respected litigator and champion of social and environmental causes.
The small firm was widely recognized as leading experts in defense of property owners involved in environmental and land use disputes. More recently they had grown the practice to advising local communities on fighting the stationing of small cell wireless technology.
A man of boundless energy and interests, Mark received his first Black Belt in Karate in August 2008 at the age of 59, the first of five Black Belts earned during his 32 years as a student at West Wind Karate School in Berkeley, Calif.
Mark was deeply creative with a penchant for remodeling and building homes and gardens. In the 1990s, the couple purchased a 13-acre property in Lovall Valley, above the town of Sonoma, building an authentic Palladian villa, designed by Mark and based on their many trips to Italy. For 17 years, the two worked tirelessly on weekends, planting a sweeping Italianate garden with fieldstone terraces. The magical estate became a popular gathering place for family and friends.
In 2013, the couple relocated to Santa Rosa, where they soon undertook a new project, creating a new garden space, replete with outdoor garden rooms, inspired by their volunteer work as volunteers each year in the iconic Sissinghurst Castle Gardens in Kent, England.
He is survived by his wife: Alison Head of Santa Rosa; two siblings, Jeffrey Pollock, Valencia, and Jill Pollock, Pueblo, Colorado; and his beloved rescue dog, Daisy. A private family gathering will be held at a later date. Donations in his memory may be made to your Humane Society, https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Donation2?24225.donation=form1&df_id=24225
This is so sad... Back in 2007Jeanne Barron Aikman, Marilyn Miller and yours truly, Cathy Palmer visited Mark and his wife Alison Head at their Sonoma home which they designed and built. It includes a vineyard which provides the grapes for Mark's Stoneheath Winery.
A couple of photos from his FB page...
A FEW FACEBOOK COMMENTS...
Send an email to cathyjpalmer@yahoo.com if you want to join in.
Every Friday for over a year now, several folks, mostly from BHS Class '67
but also from other classes, have met online via Zoom to chat about
almost everything... except politics hahaaa! Last week, among other
things, we shared stories of celebrities we had met.
The first photo is from last Friday, June 4, 2021. Gene Henandez had to leave early and then Larry MacMonagle joined us, so we took a second photo.
So, if you are free Friday 4-6 pm pacific time, drop me an email (cathyjpalmer@yahoo.com), and I'll send you the link.
And if you've never zoomed, don't worry, neither had we hahaaa! It's pretty easy and we can help if you need it.
I am so sorry to say we lost another classmate. Annette Winkler, BHS '67, just sent this notice.
"Dearest Cathy, I am sad to report that Diana passed away on June 3rd. She passed away peacefully at her home in Indio, CA. I am envisioning her singing and dancing and making the angels smile. Please ask her classmates to give her a smile, as well, for her beautiful soul and the joy she brought to others through the gift God gave her of a phenomenal voice. Thanks and God bless, Annette"
I remember in choir how Mr Hall picked Diana out from everyone as she
had a beautiful voice! Plus, she had a great sense of humor and could
act. Below is a photo from our high school yearbook of a comedy play with both Diana, on the chairs, and Annette, standing on the left.
Diana, on right, and Annette remained friends over the years. This photo is from 2019.
RIP Diana... you will be greatly missed!
A FEW FACEBOOK COMMENTS...